Is Being Famous Really All That Great?

Do you think being famous is as great as it seems? I used to think that. I wanted so much to be famous and well-known author around the world, but as I proceeded my dreams of being involved in the business of an authorand a fashion designer, I’m not so sure if I want to be popular. Yes, I want to be prosperous, but the name I could take it or leave it. People don’t realize that there’s more to being famous than just signing autographs or getting picked up for an endorsement.

There’s the scrutiny, the amazing public spotlight, the lack of privacy, the style critics, and the pressure to maintain a squeaky clean image. The while you falter, the immediately the media will be on you like a tiger on its prey. I think Chris Brown can totally agree with me on that one!

I’m not saying that it won’t happen because the possibility is always there, but what I am saying is that I am looking at the reality of my pursuit of becoming involved in the business of an author and a fashion designer.

What “We Think” about this type of business…

When a person is famous, we feel that everything in their life should be top of the line. For example, we think that any famous person should always fly first class and not the economy. We think that a famous person should always shop at Neiman Marcus and not Wal-Mart. We think that a famous person should be driving a Mercedes and not a PT Cruiser automotive. We think that a famous person should live in a million dollar mansion construction with regular maintenance, and not a three hundred thousand dollar house with no construction or regular maintenance at all.

We think that a famous person should sport a Chanel handbag and not a Jaclyn Smith handbag from K-mart. We think that famous people are supposed to go to high priced nail salons and not the small Asian-owned nail place which is less expensive but does a great job. These are some of the things that people, in general, expect from people who are famous. I look at my life now, and I enjoy shopping at Wal-Mart, I enjoy my Jaclyn Smith handbags, and I enjoy driving my PT Cruiser automotive.

If I were to become famous, could I stop shopping at Wal-Mart because that’s what people expect me to do?
Could I give up getting a five or ten dollar manicure because my fans think I should be paying fifty bucks or more for the same thing? I’m not sure if I could.

What I feel is the biggest problem for famous people is the media. The media can either make you or break you. They definitely can break you in a heartbeat. Just ask Hillary Clinton. I do want to be an author and a fashion designer with a nicer automotive and house construction and maintenance one day, but I don’t want to be so out there that the media will just do everything they can to hold me to a certain standard, and when I make a mistake, they come after me. I know if you get a little status that the media now and then may say something bad about you whether it was a bad novel you played in or what you wore that they felt was a fashion disaster.

I don’t want to be at a high status that I’m always concerned about the outfits that I’m wearing day to day, and if someone snaps a photo of me, I’ll be the fashion don’t on the page front cover! Michelle Obama has now been made into a fashion icon and the moment she is seen in an outfit that’s not so stylish, what type of scrutiny from the media will she have to endure? I’m quite sure that everyday she has to live with the pressure of making sure she looks good to keep the media at bay.

So, is being famous a great thing, or would you rather own your own business?

Some of you may say yes, and some may think no after reading this. As for me, I will work diligently to pursue my goals and write the best books I can write, but the thought of fame will not overwhelm me the way it used to. I would love to see people wearing my clothes, reading one of my books, or even having a loyal fan base. But at the end of the day, I still want to feel like me which may be hard to do if I was famous.

I feel like this, if you are not actively pursing fame, but it happens to come, you can better control your life and how much of that fame you want to swim in. But if you are actively pursing fame when you get it, be prepared to not only deal with the glitz but the not so glitz of it as well. I’m going to focus on just being financially well off, and if fame decides to come my way, I’ll determine how much of it I want to have.